A tale of the Hough: In our previous posting we responded to a letter that asked
about H.D. Hough. Author Rebekah Hughes is in the midst of researching a book
about survivors of the World War II submarine Robalo. In her research she
discovered that some information of POW names was passed on to a young U.S.
sailor named H.D. Hough. Her efforts to track down H.D. Hough led her to one of
our blog posts in which we discussed Reverend H. D. Hough, pastor of the First
Presbyterian church on the corner of Mitchell Avenue and Fifth Street during
the 1950s. I asked readers of the blog for any memories that might tip us off
to whether Reverend Hough and the young seaman were one in the same. Indicators
seemed to suggest they might be, as they both would have been born in the early
1920s and after all, how many H.D. Houghs could there be?
The readers responded: After placing a call for information on H.D. Hough last week I
was inundated with responses from Clairtonians and former Clairtonians. Many
remembered the Presbyterian Church from their high school days, for even if
they were not members many attended “canteen” dances that were held after every
CHS home football game. Others had been
members but had moved away but shared memories and still others remained in the
area and offered suggestions.
The Reverend H.D. Hough: He was a
dynamic young minister; movie star handsome, a great teller of parables, and
the perfect fit for a young, growing congregation in Clairton. Rev. Hough was
born near Fayette City and spent his entire career in Western Pennsylvania. He
worked tirelessly, putting together a Youth Fellowship to bring the younger
members into church activities, tapping several young members to take on
leadership roles, sponsoring and encouraging young people to attend summer camp
at Camp Crestview and older young people to attend summer activities at Grove
City College. The church was more vibrant under his leadership than it ever had
been or would be in the future. Perhaps his longest lasting achievement was a
concept to expand the church – literally. He envisioned an addition that would
be built from the church up Mitchell toward the manse, the house designated as
the home for the church minister.
Working with a fury: Reverend Hough went about the fundraising with a fury. His
indefatigable energy brought in tens of thousands of dollars, and with a huge
donation be PICCO scion Robert Ostermeyer, the dream became a reality and the
“new addition” was built. It was a fine addition with room for church offices,
meeting rooms, classrooms, and in the basement was a huge multipurpose room
complete with a state-of-the-art kitchen. That multipurpose room became the home
of the “canteen” dances after each home football game. It also served as a
meeting place for Youth Fellowship as well as weddings, funeral mercy dinners,
and a myriad of other activities. The mid-to-latter 1950s were a golden age for
the country, for Clairton, and for the Presbyterian Church.
The mirror has two faces: H.D. Hough had a son born in 1952 and named H.D. Hough Junior.
Like any first son he was the apple of his father’s eye. He was often seen
playing in the church under the watchful eye of Rev. or Mrs. Hough. But the
Reverend, for all the great ideas he brought to fruition, and for all the
wonderful things he did for the church and the community was just a man, and as
a man he had flaws and endured a tortured life. There were rumors of
inappropriate behavior and he was quickly transferred to another church. His
son, HD, Junior graduated high school and attended Grove City College, and
would be taken by death when barely out of his teens. Reverend Hough
established an endowment fund in the name of his son that would purchase books
for the Grove City College library. Rev. Hough passed away in the mid 1990s.
An H.D. Hough by any other name or rank: The young sailor who served in the U.S. Navy was a meticulous
record keeper. Yeoman Second Class H.D. Hough was aboard a submarine that had
several kills in the Pacific Theater of War before an enemy mine sank it. HD
Hough was one of the survivors who was sent to a POW camp in the Philippines
where he was secretly handed a note with names of survivors of another sunken
sub, hence the interest by author Hughes. During his imprisonment, H.D. Hough
was promoted to Yeoman First Class and was transferred to another POW camp in
Japan.
H.D. Hough the POW: Y1c H.D. Hough
was among a group of prisoners of war transferred aboard the Hokusen Maro ship.
The prisoners often referred it to as the Benjo Maro (Benjo meaning toilet) due
to the filthy conditions aboard the ship. The ship, also called “The Hell
Ship,” left for Formosa but the POWs on board were in such bad shape that it
docked in Takao Harbor, where they were put ashore before continuing on to
Japan. Conditions were so bad that 36
American POWs died in 39 days during the trip. Yeoman first class HD Hough
meticulously recorded the names of every POW who did not survive. He spent the
remainder of the war in POW camps and was repatriated after the war’s end.
Tracking him down: An extensive search of military
records showed that Yeoman first class H.D. Hough was in fact Hubert Dwight
Hough. He returned to his hometown after the war, Okaloosa, Iowa, where he
lived until his death in 1995. Ironically, the Reverend H.D. Hough of Western Pennsylvania
and Hubert Dwight Hough, who also went by H.D. never met but they were born
within months of one another and died within months of one another. So ends the mystery. Thanks to everybody who
offered information.
A little blogging music
Maestro: “Coincidence” by Aaron Kelly.
email: drforgot@cox.net
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